That someone being Anna Minton. In her CiF article, Minton complains that much of the square mile is private property and therefore, the crusty camp currently beleaguering the authorities of St Paul’s cannot protest there. Indeed, she whines, no one can go there who does not have the permission of the property owner. Yes, well, welcome to the principles of private property. That’s how it works – you own the property, you get to say who comes in. If the crusties were camping on your front lawn to protest about your Guardian article, you might feel that they had taken the principle of protest a step too far and you would be right.
That said, nothing in the principle of private property prevents protest. Nothing at all. That is if we recognise that protest means having a march, followed by a few speeches and some banner waving for the assembled cameras and then – this is the important bit – buggering off home. There is nothing to stop people boycotting businesses they disapprove of because of their corporate greed, there is nothing in this that stops campaigns of letter writing – or if we are to be really modern, a hashtag on Twatter. They can do all of these things and all of these things are legitimate and legal means of protesting.
What is not, is taking your tent and camping out indefinitely on someone else’s property. That isn’t protest, that is being a bloody nuisance. If you do it, sooner or later, someone will be sufficiently annoyed to move you on. So far, the Church has been remarkably relaxed about this. Others would be less tolerant of a crusty campsite setting up outside their venue. And when this finally does happen, don’t expect the 99% you don’t represent to raise an eyebrow over it, either.
Has it not occurred to her that the only reason they are still at St Pauls is they ARE on private property? Because the private landowner (in this case the Church) has allowed them to stay. If they had been on public land they would have been moved on by the police weeks ago. So it is in fact the very existence of private property that is facilitating the protest, not preventing it.
Indeed.
Perhaps the caring hearts at The Grauniad will help St Pauls by inviting the tent city to camp outside thier offices instead.
This would help LaToynbee, Monbiot and others bond more closely with the protesters, and cut the travel bill for the cash-strapped Grauniad as well.
They understand all right. The greedy bastards just want our property.
Ah yes, but what exactly is “private property”, and what rights does it bestow? The government seems to believe it can tell people (i.e. pub landlords) what they can and cannot do with regards a perfectly legal pastime on their “private property”.